Exploring the relationship between English-speaking subjects' verbal working memory and foreign word pronunciation and script recognition

Many studies show verbal working memory capacity is correlated with second-language learning ability. This research replicates and extends those findings to the pronunciation and visual-script learning of Japanese, a non-alphabetical language as a second language. The first study showed the second-language Japanese pronunciation learning was significantly correlated with native English children's verbal working memory capacity (r = .593) in 42 eight-to-nine year olds with no prior experience in learning Japanese. A second research hypothesis was formulated based on pilot work with a Japanese visual script learning test. The experiment, which employed the same working memory capacity test, was performed on 35 eight-to-nine year olds with no previous experience with Japanese. A significant positive correlation between children's working memory capacity and Japanese script learning (r = .393) was observed. The implications of these findings for the relationship between working memory capacity and second-language learning are discussed.